‘Holding Their Feet To The Fire’: Joe Manchin Defends Tanking Biden’s ‘Far Left’ Nominees

‘Holding Their Feet To The Fire’: Joe Manchin Defends Tanking Biden’s ‘Far Left’ Nominees

by The Daily Caller March 10, 2023

By: The Daily Caller

‘Holding Their Feet To The Fire’: Joe Manchin Defends Tanking Biden’s ‘Far Left’ Nominees

Harold Hutchison on March 9, 2023

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said Thursday he was keeping the Biden administration’s “feet to the fire” by tanking some of the administration’s nominees.

“I said, don’t give me anybody that’s — that’s a true advocate or pretty far left, and I’d say the same pretty far right, whoever the administration is. Give me people who are more grounded, more centrist, if you will,” Manchin told “CNN This Morning” co-host Kaitlan Collins.

Manchin announced his opposition to Gigi Sohn, President Joe Biden’s nominee to chair the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) shortly before Sohn withdrew her nomination Tuesday. Manchin announced he would oppose the nomination of Daniel Werfel to head the Internal Revenue Service Wednesday.

WATCH:

Manchin’s opposition to nominees is crucial due to the health issues of Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell is in the hospital with a concussion after a Wednesday night fall.

“The president and his administration is not adhering to the piece of legislation called the Inflation Reduction Act,” Manchin said. “They have touted that as strictly an environmental bill. And I can assure you… It was for energy security.”

“So I’m holding their feet to the fire there, and I’ll also continue to send every message I can,” Manchin added later.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].

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Catholic Nonprofit Spends $4 Million To Root Out Priests Using Hookup Apps

by The Daily Caller March 10, 2023

By: The Daily Caller

Catholic Nonprofit Spends $4 Million To Root Out Priests Using Hookup Apps

Kate Anderson on March 9, 2023

A Catholic nonprofit paid $4 million to collect dating app data in an effort to determine if priests are adhering to their commitment to celibacy, according to a report from the Washington Post.

Catholic Laity and Clergy for Renewal (CLCR) is a Colorado nonprofit that seeks to help the clergy by providing “evidence-based resources,” “support quality formation practices” and “identify weaknesses,” according to the organization’s website. CLCR reportedly spent $4 million to gain access to data from multiple dating apps, including Grindr, Scruff and OKCupid, and determine whether members of the Catholic priesthood were using the apps, according to the Post.

The group received data from 2018 to 2021, with most of the information focusing on Grindr in an effort to find gay priests, according to the Post. The information was compiled into reports for Catholic bishops that claim to have obtained the information from ad exchanges and used location data cross-referenced with various church and seminary addresses in order to determine who was using the apps.

The report did not disclose whether or not any Catholic clergymen had been released from their positions due to the findings, but allegedly CLCR has discussed the results with a dozen bishops, according to the Post.

Some of the people that worked on CLCR’s project were reportedly involved in the 2021 scandal regarding Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill, former general secretary of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, who was found to be using Grindr in 2018, 2019 and 2020, according to Catholic media outlet the Pillar, which also tracked Burrill’s phone data. USCCB President Archbishop Gomez later announced Burrill’s resignation following the report, noting that none of Burrill’s activities were with minors.

CLCR’s President Jayd Henricks addressed the group’s project in an article for First Things, saying that the mission was to “explore ways technology might serve the bishops in addressing their greatest challenges.”

“It’s true, as part of our data analysis work, we learned that some clergy were publicly advertising their interest in actions that contradicted their promises of celibacy,” Henricks wrote. “All of that is a problem—one we as a Church can choose to acknowledge and confront, or not. Publicly available data, bought in the ordinary way, was given to us at CLCR, and as we analyzed it, it became clear that heterosexual and homosexual hookup apps were used by some seminarians and some priests in some places, and with volumes and patterns suggesting those were not isolated moral lapses by individuals.”

Henricks called out the Post for being “fixated on a small part of what we do,” noting that CLCR does studies on fasting, Catholic engagement on social media and “surveyed parishioners about their liturgical lives and needs,” according to the article. He also argued that the report was “not about straight or gay priests and seminarians” but rather the overall breaking of vows that “harms everyone involved.”

CLCR declined the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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EXCLUSIVE: ‘Genderqueer Shapeshifter’ Provided School District’s Professional Development Training For Teachers

by The Daily Caller March 10, 2023

By: The Daily Caller

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Genderqueer Shapeshifter’ Provided School District’s Professional Development Training For Teachers

Reagan Reese on March 9, 2023

A “genderqueer shapeshifter” gave a professional development training session to educators within a Colorado school district detailing the “do’s & don’ts with language around trans identity” and “the importance of pronouns,” according to a public records request by Parents Defending Education (PDE), a parental rights organization.

In 2021, Silen Wellington, a self-described “genderqueer shapeshifter” and “artist of people,” presented at the Thompson School District’s virtual K-12 counselor meeting, on the basics of the “LGBTQ community,” according to the PDE public records request obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The training taught educators how to “be a better ally” and the difference between sex assigned at birth, gender identity and gender expression.

“Teachers and staff are responsible for preparing students for academic success in their core subjects,” Caroline Moore, vice president of PDE, told the DCNF. “Meanwhile, administrators force them to prioritize social and emotional staff trainings above all else. This training in Thompson School District is just another example of the social and political influence that administrators, activists and consultants have in their classrooms.”

Educators were taught to define gender dysphoria, gender euphoria, deadnames, transitioning, intersex, asexual, aromantic, two-spirit, queer and nonbinary, the training agenda showed. Wellington explained “they/them pronouns” and neopronouns, a word to serve as a pronoun that does not express gender.

The training detailed “gender dysphoria as a diagnosis” and “why language matters,” the documents stated.

[YouTube/Screenshot/Public — User: Wold Architects and Engineers ]

Wellington also hosted a series of professional development trainings at Poudre School District in Colorado, through the 2021-2022 school year including the “ABCs of LGBTQIA” where educators were taught to promote “school culture equity practices.” The school district offered another Wellington training session on “culturally sustaining pedagogy” which told teachers to confront “interpersonal, institutional, cultural and structural racism and other forms of oppression.”

Wellington hosts other workshops for clubs, workplaces and conferences on topics such as “queering your activism,” “LGBTQIA+ 101” and “queer & trans identity,” Wellington’s website showed.

Wellington and Thompson School District did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

March 10, 2023 0 comments

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Speaker McCarthy Unveils Key Legislation To ‘Lower Energy Costs,’ Make China ‘Dependent’ On American Natural Gas

by The Daily Caller March 10, 2023

By: The Daily Caller

Speaker McCarthy Unveils Key Legislation To ‘Lower Energy Costs,’ Make China ‘Dependent’ On American Natural Gas

Harold Hutchison on March 9, 2023

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow Thursday that new energy legislation would “lower energy costs” and also assist American allies.

The legislation, dubbed the Lower Energy Costs Act under H.R. 1, would include provisions to increase energy production, reform the permitting process for key projects and streamline America’s energy infrastructure, according to a statement from McCarthy’s office. Elements of the legislation will come from 26 different representatives from the House Transportation, Natural Resources and Energy and Commerce Committees.

“You’re right, the only way you can really curb inflation, you gotta lower energy costs. You named all the different things energy has, but there is more to it. It is not just energy we will do,” McCarthy told Kudlow, a former economic adviser to then-President Donald Trump, during an interview in the Rayburn Room of the U.S. Capitol. “We need to double all the above what we’re producing today. But we need to not just be energy independent, this is about exporting too, to our allies. We should make China dependent on our natural gas.”

President Joe Biden and the White House have often called increased gas prices the “Putin price hike” in the wake of the Feb. 24, 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia, but some experts have said Biden’s hostility to fossil fuel production has fueled higher gas prices. Biden also blamed oil companies for the high prices, saying they needed to increase production and pass on savings to customers.

WATCH:

“You’ve got to have pipelines. That brings in safety. You talk about these train wrecks. You know, you don’t want to be moving energy on trains, you want to put them in pipelines,” McCarthy said. “It’s a safer process. You look at Pennsylvania, you look at the shale out there, produce more natural gas, they are not drilling anymore because they don’t have anymore pipelines to send it.”

The Biden administration revoked the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline in January 2021 and canceled an offshore lease sale in May after issuing new regulations for onshore drilling for oil and natural gas.

McCarthy also called for the construction of additional refineries, saying they would be more efficient and cause less pollution. The House speaker also said the legislation would try to ease the permitting process for mining critical minerals needed for electric car production.

Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, which included a tax credit for electric battery production. Despite Biden’s push for more electric vehicles, the Environmental Protection Agency made a determination Jan. 31 that would block the mining of 1.4 billion tons of copper, gold, molybdenum, silver and rhenium in Alaska in order to protect salmon.

“China controls 95% of the processing of critical minerals. They control 90% of minerals… critical minerals themselves,” McCarthy said. “Why would we do that if America is abundant in it? Why would we do that if God blessed us with it? So we’re gonna open it up in an environmentally sound, safe, way that we can mine that we can produce more electric cars but not be beholden to China or any other country.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

March 10, 2023 0 comments

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BETSY MCCAUGHEY: The College Industrial Complex Is Rolling Out Another Set Of Left-Wing Lies

by The Daily Caller March 10, 2023

By: The Daily Caller

BETSY MCCAUGHEY: The College Industrial Complex Is Rolling Out Another Set Of Left-Wing Lies

Betsy McCaughey on March 9, 2023

Families saving for college and encouraging their kids to aim for the top are getting scammed by the left-wing college industrial complex. Colleges distort and outright lie about who gets accepted, education quality and what it costs. If they were selling auto loans and used the same deceptive tactics, they’d be in jail.

Columbia University announced last Wednesday that it is permanently eliminating SAT and ACT test scores as part of the undergraduate admissions process — the first Ivy League school to go permanently test-optional. Columbia issued a slippery statement about making admissions “nuanced” and “respecting varied backgrounds, voices and experiences.”

Truth is, Columbia is ditching merit for diversity. Without admitting it, Columbia has replaced an academic mission — providing a rigorous education to a group of prepared students — with a new one: social engineering.

Expect other colleges to follow. Elon Musk commented Saturday that “very few Americans seem to realize the severity of the situation.”

President Joe Biden made equity the mission of all federal agencies. On March 1, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona blasted the higher education industry’s “unhealthy obsession with selectivity” and urged a focus on “upward mobility.”

That’s politics. But parents making the biggest investment of their lives, except buying a home, ought to know what they’re paying for: a rigorous classroom experience for their youngster, or a bit part in a social experiment.

Colleges don’t want the public to discern what’s going on. That’s why they’re railing against U.S. News & World Report rankings, published annually. The rankings factor in, among other things, test scores, graduation rates (after six years), how much debt students have when they leave, class size and faculty credentials — precisely the facts families need.

Nearly all colleges made SAT and ACT tests optional during the pandemic. And most institutions are sticking with that temporary policy for the current year. Not the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which already reinstated testing.

Dean of Admissions Stu Schmill explains that it’s “not all about who comes in the door but also who goes out.”

A quarter of students admitted to MIT in the fall of 2020 scored a perfect 800 on the math SAT, and none scored below 700. Schmill recalled that a decade earlier, when MIT admitted students with a wider range of scores, fewer made it to graduation.

The American Civil Liberties Union slams ACT and SAT tests as “unjustifiable barriers for historically underrepresented students of color.” The issue is more complicated.

The tests have been screened to prevent bias. But high schools in areas serving Black and Hispanic students tend to be lower quality and offer fewer advanced placement courses, leaving students unprepared.

Sadly, most colleges are more interested in being politically correct than ensuring their student body can do the work.

They’re also apprehensive about a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, due in June, that is expected to curtail or outlaw considering race in admissions. In lawsuits against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, test scores were used as evidence showing how these universities rejected high-scoring Asian and white applicants to promote diversity.

After the June ruling, many institutions will likely eliminate testing to get rid of any evidence of racial favoritism. Erwin Chemerinsky of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law predicts that institutions will find ways to prefer minorities “that can’t be documented as violating the Constitution.”

A majority of Americans consider it wrong to favor any racial group in admissions. But right versus wrong be damned. The left-wing higher education establishment will likely find ways to do it, and worse, cover it up.

Race isn’t the only thing colleges lie about.

The U.S. Education Department’s College Scoreboard lists colleges’ graduation rates. But check the fine print. Graduation is defined as earning a diploma within eight years. Who has time or money for that?

A staggering 91% of colleges misrepresent their costs, according to a Government Accountability Office investigation.

Columbia confessed it falsified class sizes and faculty credentials to U.S. News & World Report.

Despite nonstop virtue signaling, the higher education establishment is anything but virtuous. Americans need to stand up to these liars.

Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York and chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths. Follow her on Twitter @Betsy_McCaughey. To find out more about Betsy McCaughey and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

March 10, 2023 0 comments

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Military Leaders Say DEI Initiatives Aren’t Hurting Recruiting, Accuse Congress Of Politicizing Armed Forces

by The Daily Caller March 10, 2023

By: The Daily Caller

Military Leaders Say DEI Initiatives Aren’t Hurting Recruiting, Accuse Congress Of Politicizing Armed Forces

Micaela Burrow on March 9, 2023

Leaders of all branches of the armed services denied “woke” diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives had a negative impact on recruiting and readiness at a House Armed Services Committee personnel subcommittee hearing Thursday.
They pushed back at various narratives circulating about the military and accused Congress of worsening the issue of politicization.
“I think the narrative that we are focused on that more than warfighting is what’s perhaps hurting us,” Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Joanne S. Bass said.

The armed services’ top enlisted leaders asserted that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives haven’t damaged recruiting efforts or readiness as lawmakers pressed for clarity at a hearing Thursday.

Republicans sparred with the service leaders over the most significant contributing factors to a problem of politicization and lack of trust in the military, with House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee Chair Jim Banks questioning the Army’s transparency on recruiting barriers. The military officials denied prioritizing DEI programs above warfighting, and some accused Congress of deepening the politicization issue with their incessant focus on wokeness in the military.

“Even by your comments — are we politicizing the military? — it almost feels like we’re politicizing the military,” Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston responded, adding that his job is to execute policy handed down from the Department of Defense, the president and lawmakers.

Only 9% of young Americans show willingness to serve, according to Department of Defense (DOD) data, officials said.

DEI “was not the number one, two, three, four, five reasons” cited in a survey the Army conducted in 2022 as a barrier to recruitment, Grinston said.

However, Banks and Republican Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida argued the Army selectively disclosed results from the survey to show how social justice policies and the COVID-19 vaccine mandate did not contribute to the service failing its recruiting objectives for fiscal year 2022 by 25% in a letter addressed to Army Secretary Christine Wormuth. Service leaders claimed “wokeness” did not feature heavily in survey responses, but the Army has concealed most of the data and methodology of the study.

Banks asked Grinston why the Army declined to publish the full results of the survey. He noted Wormuth had not responded to the lawmakers’ letter.

Grinston said he didn’t know the answer and lacked control over the survey.

“Why not make it public? Why wouldn’t the Army do that?” Banks continued.

Grinston did not respond.

Witnesses testified on ongoing obstacles to military recruiting and quality of life, including decrepit barracks, food insecurity, sexual assault and challenges with suicide and mental health.

Committee Republicans in turn cited examples of DEI programs, like pronoun training at the Air Force academy, that could alienate traditional families and distract from values — like patriotism and defeating the enemy — the lawmakers said once drew them to serve.

“Parents aren’t going to want their kids to join a military if their parents are a family of color [and] they believe it’s one of white supremacy, if they believe their daughters are going to be sexually assaulted, they believe their kids going to … want to commit suicide because of PTSD,” Waltz said at the hearing, citing the 2021 “stand down” to address extremism in the military.

“And on the flip side, as I hear from my constituents who don’t want their kids to join, if, for example, they go to the Air Force Academy and they’re told in their orientation, ‘Don’t say mom and dad, say parents; don’t say boyfriend girlfriend, say partner,’” he added.

“The Air Force does not have pronoun training,” Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Joanne Bass told Congress.

A woke military is a weak military.

Our adversaries are watching, and we need to take them seriously. We can not afford to continually project weakness on the world stage.

— Jim Banks (@Jim_Banks) March 9, 2023

Leaders from across the services argued that the pictures various groups, including national leaders and lawmakers, painted about the military sat at the heart of the recruiting crisis. They challenged Congress instead to champion military service and praise patriotism as a way of boosting recruitment and morale.

“I think the narrative that we are focused on that more than warfighting is what’s perhaps hurting us,” Bass said in response to a question from Democratic Rep. Andy Kim for each witness whether they saw DEI hurting recruitment, retention or lethality in the force.

“I think if we’re focused more on warfighting and on protecting our nation, I think we’ll probably see those numbers increase,” Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Troy Black said.

The top enlisted Marine earlier lambasted the negative portrayals of the service in the news media, on social media and in popular entertainment, arguing that most coverage glossed over the many positive aspects of military service.

“I would challenge anyone to find any positive story about the military, and if it is, it’s buried on page six,” Black said.

“We are the greatest country in the world and we have the strongest military the world has ever seen, full stop,” Grinston said. That story needs to be shared with the public, he argued.

Service leaders denied that the military had lowered standards to accommodate more recruits, or that doing so would even be effective at overcoming a historic drop in young Americans’ desire to serve.

At basic training, enlistees complete one hour of equal opportunity training, but 96 hours of rifle marksmanship training, Grinston said. While time devoted to honing warfighting skills increased at advanced Army schools, equal opportunity training remained at one hour.

Republican Florida Rep. Cory Mills cited an anecdote that the U.S. Military Academy at West Point at one point bumped a course on squad platoon tactics and replaced it with one titled “Intro to Transsexuality,” although no such class or one similarly-titled appears in the current West Point catalog after a DCNF search.

“We’re focusing on talent,” Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Roger Towberman said after Democratic Pennsylvania Rep. Chrissy Houlahan questioned witnesses on efforts to increase the number of women in the services. Only the Air Force representative described specific initiatives to promote female service.

March 10, 2023 0 comments

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House Votes To Overturn ‘Overreaching’ Biden Water Rule

by The Daily Caller March 10, 2023

By: The Daily Caller

House Votes To Overturn ‘Overreaching’ Biden Water Rule

Katelynn Richardson on March 9, 2023

The House of Representatives voted 227-198 Thursday to overturn the Biden administration’s “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule, which has been heavily criticized for broadening the definition of what are considered “navigable waters” subject to federal regulation under the Clean Water Act.

Republicans say the rule places a costly burden on landowners, ranchers, and farmers by claiming regulatory control over lands containing small streams and wetlands. All but one Republican, Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, voted to overturn the rule, with nine Democrats joining.

🚨The House just passed my legislation to protect Americans from government overreach.

Biden’s WOTUS rule is a nuclear warhead aimed squarely at our farm families, small businesses, homebuilders, every property owner, & entire communities because of its overreaching definition. pic.twitter.com/0oaBPaVn5F

— David Rouzer (@RepDavidRouzer) March 9, 2023

The resolution was introduced early February and co-sponsored by 170 members of Congress.

“President Biden’s new WOTUS rule is a nuclear warhead aimed squarely at our farm families, small businesses, homebuilders, every property owner, and entire communities because of its overreaching definition,” Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman David Rouzer said in a statement.

“Cloaked under the guise of clean water, all this rule does is expand the federal government’s control over states, localities, and private landowners, making it harder to farm, build, and generate economic prosperity,” he said. “I encourage the Senate to pass this commonsense resolution to push back against onerous rules like this one.”

In February, twenty-four Republican state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to challenge the rule. The Supreme Court is also considering a case that could overturn the rule, Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, which was brought by a couple told by the EPA that they cannot build a house on their own land because it contains wetlands.

“When Congressman Graves and I introduced resolutions of disapproval in the both the Senate and House, we wanted to show Congress is united in defending millions of Americans from President Biden’s overreaching navigable waters rule,” Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Republican West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said in a statement. “I commend the House for taking an important step today to overturn the Biden WOTUS rule, and look forward to leading my Senate colleagues in sending it to the president’s desk.”

The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].

March 10, 2023 0 comments

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‘Breath Of Fresh Air’: Unlike Chesa Boudin, San Francisco’s New DA Is Getting A Grip On Soaring Crime, Experts Say

by The Daily Caller March 10, 2023

By: The Daily Caller

‘Breath Of Fresh Air’: Unlike Chesa Boudin, San Francisco’s New DA Is Getting A Grip On Soaring Crime, Experts Say

Trevor Schakohl on March 9, 2023

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins replaced Chesa Boudin following his June 2022 recall and was elected in November.

Jenkins has received praise from experts after taking a tougher prosecution approach and rolling back parts of Boudin’s policy agenda, reinstituting cash bail in some cases.

“I think that she first of all came in and was a breath of fresh air for a lot of people who felt like Chesa Boudin just ignored them all,” California Policy Center Education Policy and Government Affairs Vice President Lance Christensen said.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins has made positive strides overall since replacing her left-wing predecessor Chesa Boudin, according to experts, despite Boudin supporters’ opposition to parts of her agenda and some city leaders’ aversion to increasing police funding.

San Francisco voters removed Boudin from office in a June 2022 recall election championed by Jenkins, with his opponents arguing he let recidivists out of jail who ultimately reoffended, and failed to prosecute criminals enough for serious offenses, having eliminated cash bail and campaigned for office in 2019 on lowering incarceration rates. Experts who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation commended Jenkins’ efforts to fight crime by taking a far more aggressive prosecution stance than Boudin, whose tenure was marked by policies she has begun rolling back.

“More than anything I believe having Brooke Jenkins as the District Attorney sends a clearer message to criminals that prosecution is back on the table,” Pacific Research Institute Senior Urban Studies Fellow Steve Smith told the DCNF. “Mr. Boudin would say that he was prosecuting cases, but what he was doing was diverting cases. Once that kind of information gets out on the street, then the crooks know that means there’s no real consequence for what they do.”

The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office during Boudin’s tenure sent an increased number of cases to diversion programs sparing defendants from lengthy incarceration periods and allowing some to walk free without criminal records, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Richie Greenberg, who founded the Committee Supporting the Recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin that unsuccessfully sought to oust him in 2021, told the DCNF that Jenkins had to fire office staff members still loyal to Boudin and face “trumped-up, fake charges” that his loyalists submitted to the San Francisco Ethics Commission and California State Bar.

Greenberg said Jenkins is rebuilding a district attorney’s office that Boudin and his established predecessor, current Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, tried to use as rather than truly prosecuting. Billionaire George Soros donated more than $2 million in 2020 in support of Gascon, who has since survived to Los Angeles County recall efforts.

Jenkins announced Aug. 3 that her office would prohibit referring drug dealers arrested with more than five grams of drugs to San Francisco’s community justice court and consider enhancing charges for drug dealing within 1,000 feet of a school. She said the office had already revoked 30 open plea offers made by Boudin, one of which had been awarded to a defendant facing six open fentanyl-dealing cases.

Taking another step away from Boudin’s policies a few weeks later, Jenkins pledged to seek cash bail in some misdemeanor cases as legally required and evaluate every pre-trial release decision on a case-by-case basis, with public and victim safety serving as the primary considerations. In October, her office touted filing about 95% more felony narcotics charges over the previous three months than Boudin’s office had during the same period in 2021.

By Feb. 25, Jenkins celebrated her office having pursued pre-trial detention in 17 cases involving alleged fentanyl dealers with several previous charges for that offense, and the Chronicle pointed out that Boudin’s office often diverted dealers to treatment programs.

“I think that she first of all came in and was a breath of fresh air for a lot of people who felt like Chesa Boudin just ignored them all,” California Policy Center Education Policy and Government Affairs Vice President Lance Christensen told the DCNF. “And her open door policy is a dramatic departure from a ‘we’re gonna give it to you hard and you’re gonna like it’ approach that Chesa Boudin had for a long time.”

Roughly 68.42% of SFPD arrests for burglary, robbery, kidnapping or motor vehicle theft from August 2022 through February 2023 have resulted in filed criminal charges, compared to charges in 58.87% of such arrests from August 2021 through February 2022, when Boudin was in office, District Attorney’s Office data shows. Serious property crime and violent crime incidents comparatively fell by around 2.5% between those two periods, according to SFPD statistics.

Breed and San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott support Jenkins, but she faces powerful opposition from sources including San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju, who supported Boudin, according to Greenberg. Raju has vocally attacked some of Jenkins’ reforms, accusing her office in August of “intentionally setting money bail to lock a poor person in jail where a wealthy person could simply pay the money and be released.”

At a Tuesday press conference that Jenkins and Scott attended, Breed promoted a $27 million police overtime funding bill, urging San Francisco Board of Supervisors members to “put politics aside,” according to The San Francisco Standard. Scott indicated the SFPD needs some 500 more sworn officers to support its workload long-term.

Greenberg claimed most of the Board of Supervisors’ 11 members still harbor “defund the police, anti-cop sentiment” following the 2020 George Floyd protests. He said the city’s Police Commission remains “mostly anti-cop as well.”

“Brooke has been in court and has won at trial,” Greenberg told the DCNF. “So the challenge though that we have is we’ve got a non-cooperative Police Commission and we have a still-stuck-in-2020-attitude Board of Supervisors who is delaying or putting up barriers or stopping further appropriating funds to get more police hired and to authorize and pay for more police academy classes to graduate more cops.”

Christensen said Jenkins hasn’t made “an incredible difference in everything,” describing how acquaintances currently struggle to visit San Francisco based on safety concerns. Some of the city’s small business owners have suffered repeated burglaries at their establishments, according to the Chronicle.

However, Christensen credited Jenkins with restoring a degree of public confidence, arguing San Francisco “wasn’t destroyed in a night and a day” and she is “doing the best she can.”

“It’s gonna take some time to rebuild that place, and she’s a key figure in that process,” Christensen told the DCNF. “I would say she’s gotta be careful that she doesn’t get sucked into this cult of personality and think that it’s her and her alone. As long as she continues to work with the partners and the different people in the area, San Francisco can have a turn-around.”

Jenkins’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].

March 10, 2023 0 comments

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‘A Very Disturbing Event’: Michael Shellenberger Describes ‘Censorship-Industrial Complex’ Created With Taxpayer Funds

by The Daily Caller March 10, 2023

By: The Daily Caller

‘A Very Disturbing Event’: Michael Shellenberger Describes ‘Censorship-Industrial Complex’ Created With Taxpayer Funds

Harold Hutchison on March 9, 2023

A journalist who testified about alleged government censorship Thursday described the rise of a “censorship-industrial complex” funded with American tax dollars to Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

“It was a very disturbing event, as you pointed out. They then proceeded to demand to know who our sources were, which of course, we were unwilling to share with them,” journalist Michael Shellenberger told Carlson, a co-founder of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“It’s important to remember the context here,” Shellenberger continued. “We were revealing here this is way beyond woke censorship within Twitter, we have now discovered a censorship-industrial complex that includes government-funded entities that are doing state-sponsored censorship.”

WATCH:

Shellenberger and Matt Taibbi testified during a hearing held by the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government Thursday, describing the findings from multiple reports based on documents provided by Elon Musk, who purchased the social media site in October 2022. The FBI reportedly paid Twitter $3.5 million between October 2019 and February 2021, according to Shellenberger.

“They are now seeking widespread use of artificial intelligence to censor accurate information. We’ve now seen Facebook and Twitter caught censoring accurate information about coronavirus vaccinations because they were worried that it would lead to vaccine hesitancy,” Shellenberger said.

“The story has really evolved, and there is much more to say on it we are still discovering quite a bit of information, but what you’re basically seeing here is the rise of a for-profit censorship industry funded by American taxpayers to censor real-world information,” Shellenberger continued.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].

March 10, 2023 0 comments

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US, EU in talks on clean technology trade deal -FT

by Reuters March 10, 2023

By: Reuters

(Reuters) -U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the United States and the European Union were in talks about a free trade-style deal around clean technology, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

“We don’t want to see any trade rivalry. And we’re in discussion with our EU counterparts about how to make sure we can do this in a way that lifts all,” Granholm told FT in an interview.

The U.S. was seeking to build a “backbone” of manufacturing to reverse decades of deindustrialization and break dependence on China, the FT reported Granholm as saying.

The report comes after the European Commission on Thursday announced that EU businesses can get as much government funding as from a U.S. green energy subsidy package.

(Reporting by Anirudh Saligrama in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Tom Hogue)

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Australian court fines ANZ Group $6.6 million for breaching consumer protection laws

by Reuters March 10, 2023

By: Reuters

(Reuters) – An Australian court has fined ANZ Group Holdings A$10 million ($6.6 million) in penalties for non-compliance with consumer credit protection laws in a case that stems from the country’s Royal Commission proceedings, a corporate watchdog said on Friday.

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) said the fine related to the lender’s home loan introducer program – that allowed third parties to refer customers for home loans – between March 2017 and March 2018.

“The program received considerable criticism in the Financial Services Royal Commission for exposing consumers to an additional layer of risk by insulating the lender from what the intermediary does with the borrower,” the ASIC said in a statement.

The court case stems from a 2017 Royal Commission inquiry into Australia’s financial services industry, which ended up exposing widespread misconduct in the sector.

“ANZ has cooperated with ASIC during this process, is nearing completion of a customer remediation program and has made changes to its home loan processes,” the bank said.

Earlier on Friday, the ASIC said the country’s six largest banking services providers had paid or offered A$4.7 billion in compensation to customers who suffered losses for fees charged for services that were not provided. ($1 = 1.5161 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Navya Mittal in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)

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Breaking News D.C. News Police Blotter

Do you know them? D.C. police seeking armed carjacking suspects

by Kristen Harrison-Oneal March 10, 2023

By: Kristen Harrison-Oneal

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Police in D.C. are asking the public to assist in identifying suspects wanted for an armed carjacking in February.

The carjacking occurred on February 28th. Today, police released photos of the suspects.

According to police, an approximately 6:23 am, the suspects approached the victim, who was approaching their vehicle, in the 400 block of Rhode Island Avenue.

The suspects brandished handguns and took the victim’s vehicle keys. The suspects fled the scene in the victim’s vehicle.

Anyone who can identify these suspects or who has knowledge of this incident should take no action but call police at (202) 727-9099 or text your tip to the Department’s TEXT TIP LINE at 50411.

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Business News

Customer service satisfaction of EV owners lower than ICE vehicles – report

by Reuters March 10, 2023

By: Reuters

(Reuters) – Customer service satisfaction among owners of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is lower than those who own internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, according to a study released on Thursday.

The J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Customer Service Index (CSI) Study, which is in its 43rd year, saw a year-over-year score decline for the first time in 28 years.

Automakers are committing billions toward developing and building EVs and batteries as they shift their focus to cleaner mobility alternatives, but customer service satisfaction remains low.

Recall rates, which are more than double for BEVs than their gas/diesel counterparts, are a leading factor, the report said.

BEV owners’ customer service satisfaction was 42 points lower than owners of ICE engines.

“As the electric vehicle segment grows, service is going to be a ‘make or break’ part of the ownership experience,” said Chris Sutton, vice president of automotive retail at J.D. Power.

“The industry has been hyper-focused on launches and now these customers are bringing their electric vehicles in for maintenance and repairs.”

The study shows a decline of 23 points in satisfaction when an owner has to bring their vehicle in for a repair after a recall rather than traditional maintenance and repair.

Since its report in 2021, the consultants have found that owners now have to wait longer for their vehicles to be serviced due to labor, loaner vehicle availability and parts shortages.

Lexus ranks highest in satisfaction with dealer service among all premium brands and Mitsubishi takes top spot among mass market brands, according to the report.

The 2023 U.S. CSI Study is based on responses from 64,248 verified registered owners and lessees of 2020 to 2022 model-year vehicles.

(Reporting by Kannaki Deka in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

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Australian regulator says banks paid $3.10 billion in compensation for wrongly charged fees

by Reuters March 10, 2023

By: Reuters

(Reuters) – Australia’s corporate watchdog said the country’s six largest banking services providers have paid or offered A$4.7 billion ($3.10 billion) in compensation to customers who suffered losses for fees charged for services that were not provided.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said on Friday it undertook a review of the systems which led to wrongful fees being charged by the country’s four biggest banks – Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Banking, ANZ Group and National Australia Bank – plus investment bank Macquarie Group and wealth manager AMP Ltd.

The watchdog’s order for customer compensation came at a time when each of the ‘Big Four’ – which account for the majority of lending in Australia – are being closely scrutinised for abusing their market dominance in the wake of scandals involving misleading financial advice, insurance fraud and interest-rate rigging.

The largest business lender in Australia, NAB, took the lead and coughed up A$1.49 billion in compensation as of the end of 2022, followed by CBA and Westpac coughing up a payout of A$1.13 billion and $1.03 billion, respectively.

ASIC said its final update on remediation figures “draws a line” under its eight-year long programme of addressing financial institutions’ failure to provide ongoing services to fee-paying customers.

($1 = 1.5177 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Riya Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Rashmi Aich)

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Marketmind: Jumpy around jobs

by Reuters March 10, 2023

By: Reuters

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Vidya Ranganathan

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has made sure there is heightened focus on today’s U.S. payrolls data. In his speech to Congress, Powell curiously mentioned this data point as one among a couple of indicators framing the Fed’s thinking around how far and fast interest rates need to rise.

That nervous anticipation isn’t the only thing weighing on markets. Asian banking and tech stocks are weak, after a plunge in the S&P 500 bank index overnight marking its biggest one-day drop in nearly three years.

That was triggered by startup lender SVB Financial Group’s share sale announcement and crypto bank Silvergate’s decision to wind down operations.

Investors head into Friday pricing in a roughly 63% likelihood of a larger, 50 basis point increase to the Fed funds target rate this month, after Thursday’s U.S. jobs report showing a rise in jobless claims pushed Treasury yields down and reduced inversion in the front of the curve.

The nail-biting around payrolls has meant investors barely reacted to other unsurprising but orchestrated developments in Asia.

Xi Jinping secured a precedent-breaking third five-year term on Friday as China’s president as he tightens his grip as the country’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.

Haruhiko Kuroda concluded his last policy meeting as Bank of Japan governor, leaving Japan’s ultra-low interest rates and controversial bond yield control policy an issue for successor Kazuo Ueda to tackle.

Stronger-than-expected job market, https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-ECONOMY/PAYROLLS/egvbyoxewpq/chart.png

Key developments that could influence markets on Friday:

U.S. February payrolls

U.K. January industrial production

(Reporting by Vidya Ranganathan; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

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Silvergate’s planned liquidation fuels another crypto rout

by Reuters March 10, 2023

By: Reuters

(Reuters) – Silvergate Capital Corp, one of the biggest banks in the cryptocurrency industry, said on Wednesday it was planning to wind down operations and liquidate voluntarily.

MARKET REACTION:

Shares of crypto-related companies fell on Thursday, as the bank’s collapse sparked a crisis of confidence in the industry.

Silvergate shares were down 26% while peer Signature Bank and former Silvergate partner Coinbase Global Inc fell 8% each.

COMMENTS:

MARCUS SOTIRIOU, MARKET ANALYST AT GLOBALBLOCK

“Investors are concerned about the consequences of Silvergate’s collapse. I think this could have significant implications for crypto regulations in the U.S. and banks’ ability to deal with digital asset platforms and cryptocurrency brokerages.”

“Silvergate’s demise was not a crypto problem. It was clearly due to Silvergate not having enough cash leading to the lack of capital from the bank run.”

KONSTANTIN SHULGA, CEO AND CO-FOUNDER OF FINERY MARKETS

“Traditional banks have refused to engage with crypto companies due to a lack of clear rules, leaving a gap that was filled by a few banks willing to take the risk.”

“One of the largest of these banks was Silvergate, which positioned itself as a crypto-friendly institution. However, this concentration on one player proved to be risky.”

“It’s definitely not good for the crypto industry, and this could potentially mean a certain trend towards crypto moving outside the U.S., at least until a more comprehensive regulatory framework is established in the U.S.”

MICHAEL PERITO, MANAGING DIRECTOR AT KBW

“It’s difficult to know what the ultimate outcome and time-line of this (winding down) process will be.”

“Silvergate still has a $205 million outstanding term loan to Microstrategy as far as we are aware; while this loan was significantly over-collateralized with BTC and performing as of year-end, we don’t have insight into how, or at what value this loan could be liquidated at.”

AARON KAPLAN, CO-CEO OF PROMETHEUM INC

“In order for events like FTX and Silvergate to be avoided in the future, crypto financial intermediaries need to come into compliance with the federal securities laws. The domino effect from FTX, and the spillover now into the traditional financial system, underscores the need for there to be proper oversight of this industry.”

“This would entail licensing crypto financial intermediaries under the securities laws and oversight by the SEC, and doing this should prevent the kind of debacles that led to the bank run on Silvergate in the first place.”

RICHARD MICO, U.S. CEO AND CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER OF BANXA

“There’s clearly a regulation-by-enforcement push by federal agencies in the United States – dubbed Operation Chokepoint 2.0 – that is making it harder for crypto-focused financial institutions to operate. Indeed, this pressure is making it increasingly challenging for crypto businesses and traders to operate within the United States.”

“As a result, there will likely continue to be a significant brain and investment drain from the United States to other jurisdictions, such as Hong Kong, the UK, Europe and Dubai, which appear to be embracing this revolutionary technology.”

(Reporting by Niket Nishant and Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

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Bayer plans to spend $1 billion on US pharma R&D in 2023-US pharma head

by Reuters March 10, 2023

By: Reuters

By Michael Erman and Patrick Wingrove

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bayer AG plans to spend $1 billion on drug research and development in the U.S. this year as it works to double its sales in the country by the end of the decade, Bayer’s top U.S. pharmaceutical executive told Reuters.

Sebastian Guth, president of Bayer’s pharmaceuticals business in the Americas, also said in an interview on Wednesday that the company had raised the number of U.S. employees working on marketing for its pharmaceutical business by around 50% over the last three years, and plans to expand on that by another 75% by 2030.

“It’s time for us to double down on the U.S.,” Guth said, noting that Bayer plans to sell the drugs it is developing itself in the country, rather than partner with U.S. companies like it has in the past.

Bayer is looking to build up its portfolio of new drugs as it hopes to improve share prices, which have been hit by concerns over litigation surrounding weedkiller Roundup and a lack of trust in the company’s leadership.

It named a new Chief Executive last month, recruiting former Roche executive Bill Anderson to replace embattled CEO Werner Baumann, who had previously said he would hold on until the end of his current term in April 2024.

Guth said he expects peak sales of 12 billion euros from cancer drug Nubeqa, kidney medication Kerendia, and two of its top pipeline assets, experimental stroke drug asundexian and experimental women’s health drug elinzanetant. He said he expects more than half of those sales to come from the U.S.

“If you look at what we have ahead of us in the U.S., I see very real opportunity to double that business,” he said.

(Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by David Gregorio)

March 10, 2023 0 comments

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GM offers salaried employee buyouts, will take up to $1.5 billion charge

by Reuters March 10, 2023

By: Reuters

By David Shepardson and Nathan Gomes

(Reuters) -General Motors Co on Thursday said it was offering buyouts for most of its salaried employees and expects to take a pre-tax charge of up to $1.5 billion to cover the costs.

The announcement comes as layoffs by U.S. companies in the past two months touch their highest since 2009, with the tech sector accounting for more than a third of the over 180,000 job cuts announced.

The largest U.S. automaker in January disclosed a $2 billion cost cut target, including reducing employment through attrition.

Under the terms of the staff reduction plan, all U.S. salaried employees with at least five years of service and all global executives with at least two years of service will be offered lump sum payments and other compensation to exit the company, GM said.

GM CEO Mary Barra said in a memo to employees seen by Reuters that the automaker was outlining the “biggest opportunities to reduce our structural cost” including reducing “vehicle complexity and expanding the use of shared subsystems between existing internal combustion engine and future electric vehicle programs.”

She also cited decreasing discretionary spending and “reducing salaried staff through attrition, primarily in the United States.”

“By permanently bringing down structured costs, we can improve vehicle profitability and remain nimble in an increasingly competitive market,” Barra wrote. “Now more than ever, we need to have a mindset of taking cost in everything we do. It needs to be built into our culture.”

GM expects to take the bulk of the charge in the first half of 2023.

GM, whose shares fell 4.3%, had 58,000 salaried employees at the end of 2022.

Eligible employees interested in the voluntary program must sign up by March 24 and those agreeing will leave GM by June 30. Barra added “taking this step now will help avoid the potential for involuntary actions.”

The buyouts are separate from job cuts the company made last month.

A GM executive in February said the company was cutting hundreds of executive-level and salaried jobs. Peer Ford Motor Co said it planned to eliminate 3,800 product development and administration jobs in Europe in the next three years.

(Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru, Joseph White in Detroit and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Arun Koyyur, Anil D’Silva and Mark Porter)

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Breaking News New York City News New York News Police Blotter

North Jersey man arrested for murder in New York City

by Adam Devine March 10, 2023

By: Adam Devine

SOMERSET, NJ – A 45-year-old Somerset man has been arrested and charged for the February 15th murder of Carbel Azouki, 44, in Upper Manhattan.

Tamir Styles was charged by the NYPD with murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

According to police, at around 10 pm on February 15th, Styles shotAzouki multiple times, striking him in the head and chest.

Police received multiple 911 calls regarding the shooting and responded to find the victim unresponsive and unconscious in the area of West 163rd Street and Riverside Drive in Washington Heights. He was taken to Lincoln Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Azouki was a resident of the Bronx.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or on Twitter @NYPDTips.

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Business News

Wall Street regulator to unveil new cybersecurity, customer data rules

by Reuters March 10, 2023

By: Reuters

(Reuters) – The top U.S. markets regulator is set to unveil a new effort to control how broker-dealers and others tackle the risk of hacking and respond to theft of customer data, continuing a regulatory drive on cybersecurity in the financial sector.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s five members are due to vote March 15 on issuing three new proposals, according to the agency’s website. Since last year, the commission has unveiled a series of cybersecurity proposals citing increased danger to public companies and investors.

The Commission will vote on whether to propose requiring broker-dealers, clearing houses and others to address the risk of hacking by adopting internal policies, alerting the commission to incidents and publicly disclosing them.

A similar proposal released last year applied to investment advisers and drew objections from some industry groups, who said requiring investment firms to report hacking incidents confidentially within 48 hours could hinder efforts to fix the problem quickly.

Other proposals under consideration on March 15 include whether to require broker-dealers and money managers to have programs in place to address unauthorized access to customer information, including by notifying the people affected, and whether to broaden the range of entities subject to SEC rules on market technology and infrastructure.

(Reporting by Douglas Gillison, editing by Deepa Babington)

March 10, 2023 0 comments

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Breaking News New York City News New York News Police Blotter

Vandal who tagged NYPD van with “Monkey” sought by police

by Adam Devine March 10, 2023

By: Adam Devine

NEW YORK, NY – Police in Flatbush are searching for a suspect who spraypainted the word “Monkey” on the side of an NYPD van Wednesday night.

The incident happened inside Parade Grounds Park in Flatbush at around 9:00 pm.

Police said the unknown male suspect approached an unoccupied marked NYPD van parked in the Parade Grounds Park parking lot in the vicinity of Coney Island Avenue and Caton Avenue.

“The individual then used black spray paint to graffiti the letters “Monkey” on the passenger side of the van. The individual then fled on foot westbound on Coney Island Avenue,” police said.

At this time, no arrests have been made. Police are asking the public to assist in identifying the suspect.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or on Twitter @NYPDTips.

March 10, 2023 0 comments

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US and World News

New York officials ask 3 pharmacy chains for plans on abortion drug access

by Reuters March 10, 2023

By: Reuters

(Reuters) -New York government officials on Thursday sent a letter to pharmacy operators CVS Health Corp, Walgreens Boot Alliance and Rite Aid Corp, asking about their plans to make abortion pill mifepristone available in the state.

The letter from New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James asked the companies to respond in writing within 10 business days about their commitment to dispense mifepristone at U.S. drug regulator-certified pharmacy locations and via mail in the state.

The letter follows Walgreens’ statement last week that it will not dispense abortion pills in some Republican-dominated states.

In a follow-up statement on Monday however, Walgreens said it planned to dispense mifepristone in any jurisdiction where it was legally permissible to do so. When asked about the New York officials’ letter, Walgreens directed Reuters to Monday’s statement.

Rite Aid and CVS did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. Medication abortion, which accounts for more than half of U.S. abortions, has drawn increasing attention since the Supreme Court last year overturned a landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that had recognized abortion as a constitutional right nationwide.

New York has taken proactive steps to protect access to in-clinic care, including a $35 million investment to support abortion providers, the state officials said in a statement that accompanied the letter.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Monday the state will not do business with Walgreens after the company said it would not dispense abortion pills in some states, following a letter by Republican attorneys general of 20 states, warning it of risking breaking the law if it sold the pills.

(Reporting by Pratik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Rashmi Aich)

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US and World News

USDOT defends ‘fully qualified’ Biden aviation nominee

by Reuters March 9, 2023

By: Reuters

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Biden administration told Congress on Thursday its pick to head the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is fully qualified and does not violate a law requiring civilian leadership.

Republicans question whether Denver International Airport Chief Executive Officer Phil Washington has the required aviation experience needed to serve as top U.S. aviation regulator.

Transportation Department (USDOT) General Counsel John Putnam said in a letter reviewed by Reuters that Washington met the legal requirements for the job, adding “the fresh perspective he will bring to his top-to-bottom assessment of the FAA’s culture and operations will be a benefit.”

Senator Ted Cruz, ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, and other Republicans say Washington, who retired from the U.S. Army in July 2000, must have a waiver from rules requiring civilian leadership to head the FAA.

“Congress and the president have strictly, repeatedly, and on a bipartisan basis interpreted the law, since it was written, as excluding retired military members like Phil Washington,” a spokeswoman for Cruz said. She rejected USDOT’s letter, arguing it was “based on a dictionary and an unrelated NASA statute.”

The FAA, without a permanent leader for nearly a year, has come under fire after a series of recent near miss incidents and still faces questions about its oversight of Boeing after two fatal 737 MAX crashes. In January, the FAA halted all departing passenger airline flights for nearly two hours because of a computer outage, the first nationwide ground stop of its kind since Sept. 11, 2001.

Acting FAA administrator Billy Nolen will hold a safety summit on Wednesday. The United States has not had a major fatal U.S. passenger airline crash since February 2009.

Cruz said on Wednesday that Washington was “unable to answer basic safety questions about the 737 MAX crashes, aircraft certification, and how a pilot might react when a system malfunctions.”

USDOT defended his nomination.

“It bears noting that leadership success in a field often comes without granular, technical knowledge,” Putnam wrote. “Surveying the leadership of the aviation field supports this fact overwhelmingly. Of the 10 largest commercial airline CEOs, only one is a former pilot.”

Washington this week won backing of three former FAA administrators and the chief executive of Frontier Airlines.

Senate Commerce chair Maria Cantwell plans to hold a confirmation vote for Washington soon, arguing he is the right candidate to change FAA culture and ensure accountability: “I definitely don’t think he represents the status quo,” she said.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Bradley Perrett)

March 9, 2023 0 comments

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Analysis-Nuclear submarine plan aims to give Australia strategic edge to deter China

by Reuters March 9, 2023

By: Reuters

By Kirsty Needham

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian nuclear submarines are key to defending the country’s 36,000 kilometres of coastline and maintaining an edge against China, whose growing military presence means conflict can erupt without notice, defence officials and government advisers said.

The shift from Australia’s diesel-electric fleet to nuclear-powered subs brings additional range, stealth and strike capability – crucial capabilities given Canberra’s reliance on sea cargo for trade, and undersea cables for telecommunications, they said.

“This is the biggest step forward in our military capability that we’ve had since the end of the Second World War,” Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Friday. “This, more than anything that we can do, it will allow us in a pretty difficult world to look after ourselves.”

Reuters has reported Australia is expected to buy up to five U.S. Virginia class submarines in the 2030’s, before building a new British-designed submarine in South Australia under a partnership with both countries dubbed AUKUS. Sooner than that, around 2027, U.S. nuclear submarines are expected to be deployed in Western Australia.

The three countries are expected to announce details of the plan on Monday in San Diego. The shift from six conventional submarines to a nuclear-powered fleet comes with a price tag estimated at A$100 billion-A$170 billion ($66 billion-$112 billion), Australia’s biggest-ever defence project.

Nuclear submarines are a key area where the United States has an edge over China’s navy, which is the world’s largest, said Peter Dean, co-author of Australia’s Defence Strategic Review, which was handed to government last month and will be made public in April.

It is vital that Australia has the same capability to deter – or, if necessary, fight – China as it expands its nuclear submarine fleet and ranges deeper into Australia’s northern waters, he said.

“The number one thing submarines do is hunt other submarines,” he said. “We need to be able to track those submarines, and if it did come to a conflict with anyone, to respond appropriately. They are a really important part of our deterrence capability.”

A U.S. Defense Department report last year said the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) had a fighting force of 340 ships and submarines, including 12 nuclear submarines – six equipped with ballistic missiles – and 44 conventionally powered submarines. The report added that China would build a guided missile submarine by the middle of this decade.

Sheer numbers can be overcome with superior technology, analysts said.

“Chinese submarines are of less advanced technology and noisier than they should be so more detectable,” said Bates Gill, executive director for the Asia Society’s Centre for China Analysis.

United States Studies Centre chief executive Michael Green, a former U.S. National Security Council member who wrote a paper for the Pentagon seven years ago on undersea warfare, said he estimated then the U.S. had a 15-year lead over China in that realm.

“The Chinese are developing carrier-killer ballistic missiles to target surface ships, aircraft carriers and destroyers. This undersea warfare advantage, this edge, is absolutely critical to deterring China against thinking it can use force against anyone in the region,” he said.

Green says PLA officials told him a decade ago that Beijing sought to control the waters around the Pacific’s “first island chain” of Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines – which all have treaties with the United States – to create a buffer.

They also hoped to push U.S. forces from the “second island chain” spanning the U.S. territory of Guam to the Pacific islands, which count Australia as a traditional aid and security partner.

China’s failed effort last year to strike a 10-nation security and trade pact in the Pacific islands renewed concern about Beijing’s naval ambitions, he said.

“They want to take the fight to our neighbourhoods so that we can’t concentrate our forces to deal with a contingency in the first island chain,” he said, referring to an attack on Taiwan.

The U.S. has long wanted to base its nuclear submarines in Australia, and if that is the near-term solution under AUKUS, it is a significant shift, Gill said.

AUKUS will also see the joint development of long-range missile systems, pre-positioning of material and a larger U.S. military footprint in Australia, he said.

“The public mood has dramatically changed towards China,” he said, pointing to polling by the Lowy Institute think tank showing Australians see China as a threat. Such moves nonetheless remain politically sensitive, despite bipartisan support from the two major parties, and would face some community opposition, he added.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said Australia will retain sovereign decision making as it integrates with AUKUS allies – from the workers who will build the submarines to training programmes.

He declined to comment on costs on Friday but said Australia would “make sure that we invest more in our defence”.

Dean says the Defence Strategic Review has set out a plan to handle a conflict that begins without warning – preparations that range from ammunition and fuel logistics to workforce requirements and base locations.

China’s diplomats have said AUKUS violates a Pacific nuclear-free treaty, and the country has told the International Atomic Energy Association the pact is an act of nuclear proliferation, although IAEA has said marine nuclear propulsion is allowed if monitored.

Beijing says its military expansion in the region is for defensive purposes.

($1 = 1.5193 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Kirsty Needham. Editing by Gerry Doyle)

March 9, 2023 0 comments

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Norfolk Southern faces harsh US Senate criticism after Ohio derailment

by Reuters March 9, 2023

By: Reuters

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. Senate committee harshly criticized rail operator Norfolk Southern and pressed it to back safety reforms on Thursday after a devastating Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, of a freight train carrying hazardous materials.

Since the Ohio derailment that caused cars carrying toxic vinyl chloride and other hazardous chemicals to spill and catch fire, Norfolk Southern has been under pressure after a number of derailments of its trains.

During a three-hour hearing, senators from both parties said Congress must pass rail safety reforms and pressed Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw to endorse improvements.

“It’s our responsibility in Congress to answer: What went wrong? What do we need to do to fix it? What can we do to make sure it does not happen again?” Senate Environment and Public Works committee chair Tom Carper said in opening the hearing.

Late on Thursday, the Senate Commerce Committee confirmed Shaw will appear on March 22 at a rail safety hearing, as will National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy.

Senators asked Shaw to do more to compensate local residents, boost staffing and spend more on safety improvements, as well as questioned the company’s spending on stock buybacks and sharp cuts in staffing over the last decade.

At the hearing Shaw apologized, pledging to improve safety and address impacts including thoroughly cleaning the site. He said it had already committed $21 million to the community as a “down payment… I am committed to doing what’s right for the community.”

He said the railroad was committed to the “legislative intent to make rail safer” but did not endorse the bill.

Shaw defended Norfolk Southern’s safety record but has pledged to make immediate safety improvements. At the hearing, one senator noted that another Norfolk Southern operated train on Thursday had derailed in Alabama.

Shaw said on Thursday that in December he directed the railroad to “move away from a near-term focus solely on profits and that we’re going to take a long-term view.”

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and NTSB both announced new safety probes after the death of a conductor in Cleveland, Ohio, when a train was struck by a dump truck.

The NTSB said it was opening a special investigation and urged “the company to take immediate action today to review and assess its safety practices.” The railroad’s shares fell 1.4% Thursday and are down 15% since the derailment.

Senators also asked where the hazardous materials will be sent, to which Shaw pledged to disclose a list. He also faced questions on the decision to conduct a controlled venting and burning of vinyl chloride in five tank cars.

Shaw said the decision to vent the material was made by the unified command under the direction of a local fire chief. “The only consideration, senator, was the safety and health of the community,” Shaw said.

Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown said Norfolk Southern used much of its “massive profits” to hike executive pay and pay shareholders rather than on safety measures. “This company has failed to its job over and over and over,” Brown said, saying the railroad eliminated 38% of its jobs over a decade.

Shaw said the railroad is on a “hiring spree” and has added 1,500 jobs over the last year but it is still far below where it was.

A bipartisan group of senators led by Brown and Ohio Republican J.D. Vance introduced legislation last week to prevent train disasters. It would require enhanced safety procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials, as well as require wayside defect detectors, a minimum of two-person crews and increased fines for wrongdoing.

Vance rejected suggestions from some fellow Republicans that new rail safety measures would violate free market principles, arguing railroads enjoy “special subsidies” and “special legal carve outs” few industries receive.

Vance noted Congress stepped in last year to impose labor contracts over the objections of workers that he called a “bailout.”

“Do we do the bidding of a massive industry that is in bed with big government or do we do the bidding of the people that elected us,” Vance asked at the hearing.

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer asked, “Why did Norfolk Southern spend years lobbying for looser regulations to prevent accidents like this?”

Following the East Palestine derailment, some of the town’s 4,700 residents have reported ailments such as rashes and breathing difficulties and fear long-term health effects. No deaths or injuries were reported after the accident.

Democratic Senator Ed Markey said the railroad needed to do more to boost safety, citing a string of recent incidents. “You are not having a good month,” he told Shaw. “We are not hearing the right things today.”

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Josie Kao)

March 9, 2023 0 comments

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